Don't Stop Believing
by Fabala123
Summary: A songfic based on "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey. AU Fiyeraba, Wicked. Enjoy :)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:  
>This will be the first multi-chapter story I'm posting on here. Updates will probably be rare, but I'll try to write often and update frequently (no promises).<br>Also, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to UltimateQueenofCliffies, because she is the person who inspired me to post my writing in the first place. She probably won't see this, but if she does, I want to thank her with all my heart for inspiring me.  
>Disclaimer: I don't own <em>Wicked <em>or the song "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey.  
>Without further ado, here is the first chapter.<strong>

Elphaba stomped away from the only house she'd known for the past nineteen years. She'd had it with all the harsh words and constant negligence. Her father had never spoken a single kind word to her, yet constantly spoiled her sister Nessa and treasured her. Elphaba just wanted to find somewhere where people actually cared about her. She was tired of always feeling so alone.

They'd had guests over for dinner that night, so Elphaba pretended to be a servant of the governor's mansion as usual. While carrying a tray of buns, she accidentally tripped over Nessa's wheelchair and fell to the floor with a thud. She hurriedly picked up the scattered buns as her father scolded her for dropping them.

"I still don't understand why you hired the girl; she clearly can't cook, clean, or even carry a simple tray," remarked one of the guests. Elphaba's hands shook with anger as she cleared away the last of the buns. To comment on her clumsiness was rude, but to insult her inability to cook and clean was downright cruel. She worked her hands to the bone everyday doing everything around the house, while her father and sister never lifted a finger. Before she knew it, Elphaba had inadvertently set the tablecloth on fire using her magic. The guests and her father leaped up from the table, shrieking and yelping. Nessa had a look of sheer panic on her face until Elphaba quickly wheeled her away from the burning table. Then she grabbed a bucket of water from the closet and flung it onto the flames. Once that danger had been taken care of, Elphaba turned to face her other one.

"Elphaba." Her father's voice was calm, but she knew that on the inside his rage was blazing more than the fire she'd just put out. She stared up at him, determined not to show her fear.

"Come with me." He seized her by the arm and dragged her out into the freezing night.

"What do you think you're doing?!" he exploded. "You set fire to an expensive tablecloth, frightened the guests even more than usual, and put my dear Nessa in danger!" The man paused to take a breath. "You are a disgrace to the Thropp family," he spat. "You will sleep out here tonight. It's the gentlest of punishments after what you did in there." With that, he turned sharply on his heel and returned to the dining room, leaving Elphaba to shiver in her thin frock. How in Oz was she to survive such a chilly night without so much as a cotton blanket?

Time ticked by slowly. The guests left immediately after Elphaba's outburst. The poor girl watched as her family went to bed, warm and safe. She waited about a half hour before climbing a tree up to her bedroom window. There was no doubt her father had locked all the doors; her only hope was that he'd left her window unlocked.

Elphaba crawled up to the glass and managed to slide it open. She silently dropped in, intending to head straight to her bed, but her suitcase caught her eye. An idea popped into her mind, one that she'd fantasized about a thousand times, yet never had the courage to actually pull it off. Now, however, her emotions got the better of her and she grabbed the suitcase. Before long, she'd packed it with her few belongings and a bit of food. Elphaba noiselessly slipped on her jacket, picked up her suitcase, and departed into the night.

She hadn't the faintest idea of where she was going; she just wanted to get away. Her boots crunched through the frosted grass and her breath was visible in the bright moonlight. Eventually, she ended up at a train station with several benches.

_Well, _she thought, _I suppose I could catch a train somewhere, but I didn't think to bring any money. Maybe tomorrow I could walk to the village and get a job…but then father could find me. After all, it's not difficult to find a girl with bright green skin. _She sighed. _Could I sneak onto a train?_

Her mind raced as it tried to find a way out of the situation. Elphaba paced throughout the station until she kicked something small under a bench with a _clink. _Bending down, she reached under the bench and pulled out a coin. It was enough to buy her a one-way ticket. She sprang up and rushed to the ticket booth.

"When does the next train leave?" she asked the man behind the counter. He gaped at her unusual skin tone. Elphaba grew impatient and repeated the question more urgently.

"Midnight," the man replied through his bushy gray mustache.

"I'll take it," said Elphaba, giving him the coin. He took it and handed her a ticket.

"It'll be here in about ten minutes," the worker informed her, nodding toward the clock. Elphaba thanked him and plopped down onto a bench. She set her suitcase beside her.

Ten minutes later, a train pulled into the station the conductor stepped out.

"You gettin' on?" he demanded. Elphaba nodded vigorously and grabbed her suitcase. She held out the ticket, which he accepted. The conductor stepped aside to let her in, and she walked up the steps and into an unoccupied compartment. There, she set down her suitcase once more and took a seat. With a hiss, the train began to move away from the only life Elphaba had ever known. Away from everything familiar and into something completely foreign.

_Next stop: anywhere, _she thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:  
>Oh my Oz, you guys-thanks so much for the reviews! They were a really pleasant surprise (I wasn't really expecting any reviews since I'm a fairly new author on here).<strong>

**UndefeatedAura: You said something about knowing a person who draws pictures like the one I used for my profile picture, and I read in your one-shot that you speak Tagalog, which is spoken in the Philippines. Do you happen to know James Claridades (AKA Squeegool)? I'm a huge fan of his artwork, and I really hope he doesn't mind that I have one of his drawings as my profile picture. I can change it if he's uncomfortable with me using it.**

**PocketSevens: Oh man, now there's pressure to stay true to the song (haha). I'm not entirely sure how exactly everything is going to play out, but I'm glad you like it so far. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story too :)**

**WickedFrenchHorn: Thanks for the review! I really appreciate that you took the time to review this story. I hope you continue to enjoy my writing :)**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter. Enjoy :)  
>Disclaimer: I don't own <strong>**_Wicked _or the song "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey.**

Fiyero shoved everything he'd brought with him back into his trunk. He'd just flunked out of school—again. What was he going to tell his parents?

_Oh Oz, _he thought. He was in deep, deep trouble. His parents had threatened to disown him if he failed again, and here he was, packing his bags after not being able to pass his classes. Fiyero considered his options: go back home to his furious parents, or run away from his responsibilities as he always did. The latter appealed to him more, so made up his mind to run away.

This decision brought up new questions, such as to _where _he'd run and what he would do once there. Fiyero ignored the questions and grabbed his trunk. He considered hiring a carriage, but realized that would be too expensive and settled on walking to a train station instead. His feet trudged through a thin blanket of snow, and he shivered. Maybe running away wasn't such a good idea, after all.

Before he could turn back, however, Fiyero arrived at a train station. The clock mounted above the ticket counter informed him that it was half-past eleven.

"When does the next train leave?" he asked, walking up to the ticket booth.

"Midnight," grunted the man behind the counter. Fiyero bought a ticket and sat down on a bench, feeling cold. By the time the train arrived, he was freezing and miserable; he hoped he hadn't caught a cold.

Fiyero boarded the train and found a near-empty compartment. The only other person in it was a dark-haired girl dozing in a chair. Wait a clock-tick, was she _green?_ Fiyero shook his head to clear the notion. That girl couldn't have green skin. It just wasn't possible. Nevertheless, the prince sat down in the far end of the compartment, just to be safe.

As the train chugged along, Fiyero stared out the window in an attempt to entertain himself. When that didn't work, he tried to sleep, but found that he was too cold to do so. The idea of waking the girl up and making conversation with her briefly crossed his mind, but he dismissed the thought immediately. Waking someone up just to make small talk with them seemed rude, even to Fiyero. He eventually drifted off to sleep, only to be jolted awake when the train hit a bump. Apparently, it had awoken the girl too—who really _was_ green—and she was now staring at Fiyero warily. He eyed her just as cautiously, taking in her green skin, black hair, and brown eyes. A few moments later, she turned away and gazed out the window, so Fiyero did the same.

_Should I talk to her? _he wondered. After a while, he made up his mind.

**Author's Note #2: In case you were confused about the different times, I was kind of thinking that Oz has different time zones. In terms of time, Munchkinland is ahead of the eastern section of the Vinkus, which is where I placed Fiyero's university (he's not attending Shiz in this chapter). Hope that wasn't too confusing.  
><strong>**Thanks for reading :)**


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